E 340 
.HIS H3 
Copy 1 



1 TBRftRV OF CONGRESS 

'ill '.ll'llll'l" '1111 ll'l'' ill 



011 838 633 4 



l 



MEMOIR 



HON. HILAND HALL, LL.D, 



^ 




^y^.^.^^^^ 



MEMOIR 



HON. HILAND HALL, LL.D. 



HENRY D HALL, Esq. 

OF NORTH BENNINGTON, VT. 



Reprinted from the New Eng. Hist, and Gen. Reg. for Janu.iry, 18S7, with additions. 



BOSTON : 

PRESS OF DAVID CLAPP & SON. 
188 7. 



MEMOIR OF HON. HILAND HALL, LL.D. 



'^l^ HE subject of this memoir, Hiland Hall, ex-Ciovcrnor and cx- 
-5- member of Congress, was born at Bennington, Vermont, July 
20, 1795. His parents were of English descent. The emigrant 
ancestors of each, John Hall of the father Nathaniel Hall, and 
George Hubbard of the mother Abigail (Hubbard) Hall, after be- 
ing over fifteen years at Boston and Hartford, became in 1650 the 
first settlers and large land-holders in INIiddletown, Connecticut, 
where in its ancient burying-ground may now be found tombstones 
of some of their early descendants. 

His father was a quiet, industrious farmer, coming to reside in 
Bennington in 1779, and marrying at Norfolk, Ct., October 12, 
1794, the mother, who ever proved a worthy and efficient help-meet. 
Both were exemplary members of the Baptist Church, of which he 
was a deacon, and were respected and esteemed members of society. 
The boyhood and youth of Hiland Hall were spent on his father's 
farm. He became interested in reading when f|uite young, and 
read all the books he could find or bon-ow in the vicinity, his taste 
naturally being for history or biography. 

His early education was obtained in the common schools of his 
neighborhood, with the exception of nearly three months at an 
academy in Granville, N. Y. ; which undoubtedly would have 
been rounded out to the full quarter but for sickness. The writer 
does not remember of hearing him speak of any other sickness in his 
youthful days, this being impressed upon him as taking largely from 
the sum total of his educational advantages, though he has told how 
his good mother, calling him to her side, when on speaking to the 
children of getting ready for meeting upon Sunday morning, and he 
making an excuse that he did not feel well, and claiming he ought 
to be permitted to stay at home, would reach for the " picra bottle," 
which was very generally kept in those days for worms, wiiich was 
the usually considered trouble with children. He would generally 



feel better and soon recover, without taking a dose, so as to make 
his scanty toilet, and go to hear the sermons of at least an hour or 
more in length, wliich were preached twice on the Sabbath. 

jMr. Hall became interested in politics at an early age, favoring 
the republican in opposition to the federal party. During the war 
with England, early in September, 1813, a few weeks after he be- 
came eighteen years old, he was actively engaged in the formation 
of a young men's society in Bennington for a vigorous prosecution 
of the war, styled the " Sons of Liberty," and was one of a committee 
of three to prepare and report a constitution for the Society. The 
well-bound book of records of the Society is still preserved, the 
minutes of its proceedings covering over sixty pages of foolscap size. 
The Society held regular meetings, at which political cjuestions were 
debated. Among its patriotic acts was the procuring from the ladies 
in the town and vicinity of 158 pairs of mittens and 42 pairs of 
socks, whicli in the name of the lady contributors were presented to 
the lltli Regiment of U. S. soldiers stationed at Plattsburg, N. Y., 
in January, 1814, which regiment had been largely recruited in 
Vermont. The Society continued in active life imtil after the close 
of the war, the last record of its proceedings being an account of its 
celebration of tlie Fourth of July, 1815, at which there were an 
address, procession, dinner and eighteen toasts, in accordance with 
the number of States of the Union at the time. 

After the close of the war in 1815, there was a lull in party pol- 
itics, and by 1)S20, the federal party, as a national organization, had 
ceased to exist, Mr. Monroe, the republican candidate, being elected 
president by a vote of all the states, the vote of only a single elector 
in New Ham]ishire being cast against him. At the elections in 
1824 and 1828, Mr. Hail, in common with most of the New 
England republicans, voted for John Quincy Adams. The support- 
ers of Gen. Jackson, who was elected in 1828, assuming the name 
of Democrats, their opponents took that of National Eepublicans, 
which was afterwards changed to Whigs, to which Mr. Hall belonged 
imtil it became merged in 1856 in the new republican party, a name 
under whicli he began his early political life. 

He studied law and was admitted to t!ie bar of Bennington Coun- 
ty in December, 1819; established himself in practice in his native 
town, which he represented in the general assembly of the State in 
1827. In 1828 he was clerk of the Supreme and County Court for 
Bennington County, and the year following was elected State 
Attorney for the County, and reelected the three succeeding years. 

Mr. Hall being naturally of a generous disposition, and easily 
turned aside when collecting his own bills, and thinking little of 
money for its own sake, but using it freely for the necessary comfort 
of his family, at this time increasing in numbers, as well as answer- 
ing the claims of the needy and unfortunate; he early became 
involved in his pecuniary relations, and for years lived in a home 



which was heavily mortgaged, but wliich lie was enabled to clear up 
in middle lite, having never settled a debt at less than one hundred 
cents on the dollar. 

Another characteristic which tended to lessen his yearly income, 
was the conscientious expression of his opinion to his clients as to 
their just and legal claims when advised with as to the bringing of 
suits, or of continuing litigation after tiiey had been commenced. 
A strict regard to right and justice often witlilield the prosecution 
of suits, which in the hands of some would have brought returns in 
fees, adding much to the income of an attorney ; but it gave confi- 
dence to those having right upon their side in employing him, as 
they never had reason to fear tiiat he would be tampered with by 
opposite counsel, or their cases in any way be jeopardized by him 
for want of integrity. Thus the opinion obtained, to quite an ex- 
tent, that the side upon which he was engaged would prevail, from 
the inherent justice it was undoubtedly possessed of. In after life 
he had the satisfaction of not being straitened in his pecuniary cir- 
cumstances, though his magnanimous nature would have found ways 
to dispose of large possessions in the way of benevolence. 

In January, 1833, he was chosen a representative in Congress to 
supply the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Jonathan Hunt, 
and took his seat on the 21st of that month, during the extraordinary 
excitement growing out of Air. Callioun's South Carolina nullification 
ordinance, and witnessed the failure of that first serious effort at 
disunion. At the same election Mr. Hall was chosen a member of 
the 23d Congress, which commenced its first session the following 
December. The district then comprised the two counties of Ben- 
nington and Windham, with seven towns in Windsor County, viz., 
Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish, Chester, Ludlow, Springfield and 
AV^eston. This district he represented in Congress for ten successive 
years, receiving as a National Re[)ublican and Whig, five different 
elections by large majorities. Ilis congressional service terminated 
the 3d of ilarch, 18 13, he having declined being longer a candidate. 

In Congress Mr. Hall was a working rather than a talking mem- 
ber, though he occasionally made political speeches, among them 
one in 1834 against Gen. Jackson's removal of the govei-nment de- 
jjosits from the United States Bank, and another in 1836 in favor 
of the distribution of the jjroceeds of the public lands among the 
states, which measure was in effect consummated at that session in 
the distribution of the surplus revenue, by which nearly seven hun- 
dred thousand dollars were received by the State of Vermont, and 
added to the school-funds of the several towns. Both these speeches 
were printed in pamphlets and extensively circulated by his congres- 
sional associates and otiiers, and the former was reprinted in iVew 
York prior to the succeeding State election, and circulated as a cam- 
paign document. 

But the speaking of Mr. Hall in Congress was in general of a 



6 

business character, made to influence the votes of members on pend- 
ing questions, rather than for the country. His work on commit- 
tees, first on that of the post-office and post-roads, and afterwards 
on' that of revokitionary claims, was onerous and severe, his printed 
reports covering several vohmies of pubhc documents. In 183(), 
while a member of the post-office committee, he presented a report 
in opposition to tlie message of the President .and the report of the 
Post-Master General, which had recommended the enactment of a 
law making it a penal otfence to transmit by mail into any of the 
southern states, printed matter against the institution of shivery, 
tenned "incendiary publications." The report, which was by a 
minority of the committee, was in answer to one that had been made 
to the Senate by Mr. Calhoun, and of whicli five thousand extra 
copies had been ordered by that body. Besides siiowing the great 
difficulty and danger of such legislation, the report of Mr. Hall took 
tlie ground that it would be an infringement of the liberty of the 
press, and a violation of the constitution, which had confeiTed no 
power on congress to look into publications and prescribe what 
opinions should and what should not be admitted into the mails, or 
be tlie subject of mail transmission. The report was signed by Mr. 
Hall and the Hon. George N. Briggs, afterwards governor of JMas- 
sachusetts, but as the majority of the committee failed to make their 
report, tliat of the minority did not become a public ducument. It 
\vas, however, printed in the A'ational Intelligencer at AV^ashington, 
and in New York and other papers. 

JNlr. Hall's services were especially important in committees and 
also in debate, in opposing wasteful and extravagant expenditures. 
"While on the post-office committee he took an active and prominent 
part in framing and procuring the passage of the act of July 2d, 
1836, which made a radical change in the organization of the post- 
office department, and provided an effectual system for the settle- 
ment of its complicated accounts, by wjiieh an alarming series of 
frauds that had caused a very great drain on the treasury, was bro- 
ken u)i, and an honest and economical administratian of its affairs 
inaugui'ated and secured. 

Mr. Hall's successful efforts in relation to one class of claims de- 
serves a more particular notice, as well for the large amount involv- 
ed in them as for the powerful influence and bitter opposition he 
was obliged to overcome in exposing their unfounded and fraudu- 
lent chaiactcr. For several years there hail been passing through 
C(mgress, with little opposition, numerous claims founded on alleged 
jiromises of the legislature of Vii-ginia, or of the Continental Con- 
gress, to Virginia officers of the revolutionary army, some of them 
tlcnominated Commutation Claims, some Half-pay and some Boun- 
ty-land Claims, l)ut all depending upon similar evidence to sustain 
them. In satisfaction of these claims there had already been drawn 
from the treasuiy over three millions of dollars, nearly all of which 



Imd been paid for supposed services of deceased Virginia officers, 
and there were still pondinjj before coiiijress claims to the further 
amount of more tiiau another million, and their number and amount 
were continually increasing. By a patient and laborious examina- 
tion of the revolutionary archives in the department at Washington, 
with some information derived from the public records at Richmond, 
Mr. Hall became satisfied that the great mass of tlie claims already 
paid was wholly unfounded, and tliat those that were still pending 
were, if possible, still more wortiiless. In order to bring the sub- 
ject fully before congress, he obtained the appointment of a select 
committee, of which he was made chairman. He prepared a report 
unfavorable to the claims, which was approved by the committee 
and presented to the House on the 27th of February, 18.^i), with 
the usual motion that it be laid on the table and printed. Contrary 
to the uniform practice in such cases, t'le printing of the report was 
vehemently opposed by the Virginia delegation. After obstructing 
the action of the House daring the morning hour of that day, by- 
dilatory motions and debate, tliey found the members impatient to 
order the [jrinting under the previous question, upon which, as a last 
i-csort, Mr. Wise of Virginia called for the reading of the report, 
which by strict rule he had a right to require before voting upon it. 
'I'he reading of the report was commenced, and was continued 
through the morning houi-s of February 28th and March 1st, with- 
in two days of the close of the session, when the pressure of other 
business jirevented its being finished. 

^ Mr. Wise's unexampled hostile call for the reading, therefore, 
had its designed effect of smothering the report for that congress. 
The next session of congress Mr. Hall became a member of the 
committee of Revolutionary Claims, and soon afterwards its chair- 
man. On the 24th April, 1840, he made a report from that 
committee on the Bounty Land and Commutation Claims of the 
Virginians, similar to the one which had been suppressed at the 
close of the previous congress, which showed by authentic documen- 
tary evidence that every one of those allowances was unfounded. 
The efforts of the Virginians to obtain revolutionary allowances, 
especially for officers' bounties under an old law of their state, being 
still Continued, Mr. Stanly, of North Carolina, on the 10th of June, 
1842, offered a resolution directing the committee of Revolutionary 
Claims to examine and report on their validity, which resolution he 
afterwards modified by substituting a select committee for that on 
Revolutionary Claims. This was done on the complaint that Mr. 
Hall, the chairinan of the standing committee, was unreasonably 
and unjustly prejudiced, and would not give the claimants a fair 
hearing. On the 113th of June Mr. Hall, having obtained the floor, 
sjioke an hour in vindication of his course in regard to the claims, 
showing l)y undoiilited documentary evidence that they were all, 
collectively and individually, either wholly fraudulent or clearly 



8 

unfounded on any revolutionary service to sustain them ; and he 
closed his remarks by presenting a list of tlie names of sixty-four 
claimants, whose claims amounted in the whole to over two hundred 
thousand dollars, and comprised all of the latest of those claims that 
had been recommended for payment by the executive of Virginia, 
and were included in the bill then pending in the House. 

He said every one of them was bad, and offered to abandon his 
opposition to the claims if aiij' member would satisfy the House tiiat 
any single claim was well founded. His remarks were commented 
upon by many of the Virginians, and among them Messrs. Goggin, 
Goode and Gilmer, in speeches of an hour each, which were all 
highly laudat(ny of the patriotism of Virginians and her revolu- 
tionary heroism, but none of them ventured any attempt to show 
the validity of a single claim. The speech of Mr. Gilmer in par- 
ticular was of an aggressive and extremely personal character to- 
wards Mr. Hall, and was sharply replied to by him, in which his 
attacks were effectually repelletl. 

He not only made a further exposure of the claims, but showed 
that Mr. Gilmer, who had been governor of Virginia, had originated 
them by inducing the legislature of the state to recommend their 
payment by congress, when they were well known to be entirely worth- 
less ; that he had as agent of the Half-pay Claimants, whose claims 
were equally invalid, first presented them to congress, and tliat he 
was by a law of the state entitled to one per cent, on all that should 
be paid by the United States, on which he had already received over 
twelve thousand dollars, and was entitled to a like allowance on all 
future payments. This debate occupied the morning hours of several 
days, and having the numerous delegation of Virginia on one side 
and a single member from another state on the other, and being in a 
great degree of a personal character, attracted very general attention. 
The vindication of Mr. Hall, which was full and complete, and 
overwhelming to his assailants, was listened to with unusual interest, 
and was also the subject of general newspaper notice and comment. 
Ex-Prcsident Adams, who was a member of the House at the time, 
notices the debate in his Diary published by his son, as follows : 

/ June 16th, 1842. Stanly moved the appointment of a select committee 
to investigate the expenditures on account of Virginia Military Bounty 
land warrants, from which sprang np a debate, and lliland Hall opened a 
hideous sin'k of corruption until he was arrested by the expiration of the 
morning hour. 

June 2l8t. Gilmer growled an hour against Hall for detecting and 
exposing a multitude of gross frauds, perpetrated in the claims relating to 
the Virginia land warrants. 

June 22d. Goggin scolded an hour against Hiland Hall, and W. O. 
Goode took the floor to follow him. 

June 24th. W. O. Goode followed the Virginia pack against Hall. 
James Cooper moved the previous question, but withdrew it at the request 
of Hall, to give him opportunity to reply to the Virginia vituperation. 



June 25th. Ililand Hall took the morning hour to (lay Gilmer and the 
Virginia Military land warrants. 

Tliis tlK>roii2:h exposure of tliese claims, and tiic marked rebiifT and 
discomfiture of tlicir ciiampions, followed as it soon after was hy a 
full history and condemnation of them in detail in a rejjort by Mr. 
Stanly's select committee, o[)erated as a final extinguisher of them. 
Mr. Hall was a member of tiie select committee, and the report had, 
by direction of the committee, been prejiared and made to the Houso 
by him. Gov. Gilmer, the leading oluimpiou of the claims, was 
subsequently Secretary of the Navy under President Tyler, and lost 
his life, with several others, by tiie bursting of the Stockton cannon 
on board the Steamer Princeton in February, 1844. 

By the act of congress, passed in 1832 on the application of the Vir- 
ginia Assembly, under the lead of Gov. Gilmer, congress had assumed 
the payment of certain half-pay claims, whicli rested on alleged pro- 
mises of tliat state to her officers, and had provided for their adjustment 
by the war department. These are the claims before mentioned, for 
the allowance of which by the United States Mr. Gilmer was entitled 
to receive a percentage. They were purely state claims, and there 
was no legal or equitable ground for making the United States 
liable for them. Those intended to be provided for had not only 
been allowed and paid, but the act had been so loosely and inconsis- 
tently construed by former Secretaries of War, that Mr. Hall, 
from his examination, felt able to show, beyond doubt, that allow- 
ances to the amount of several hundred thousand dollars had been 
made under color of its provisions, wliich the act in no wise warranted, 
and which were clearly unfounded and unjust. As other claims of 
like character were still pending in the department, Mr. Hall felt it 
his duty to call the attention of the then recently appointed secretary 
to the lax manner in which previous allowances had been made, and 
he accordingly addressed a letter to him on the subject, in which he 
respectfully suggested the propriety of his reconsidering the con- 
struction which should be given to the act. The secretary did not 
take the suggestion kindly, and rather a spicy correspondence ensued, 
the purport and spirit of which may be gathered from the two con- 
cluding letters, which were as follows : 

Department of War, Feb'y 25th, 1842. 
Sir : 

In answer to your lotfer of the 2 Itli, I transmit herewith a copy of 
your former letter of the 21st inst, as you request; and have to state that 
I coulil Dot perceive the object of it, if it were not to induce a suppression 
of operations in .the class of cases to which you allude. I am extremely 
obliged to you for the information you gave, and will l)e still furtlier obliged 
if you can point out a mode in which the erroneous construction you sup- 
pose to have been given can be corrected, without violating tlie indis^Jensa- 
ble rule of adhering to former decisions. 

Very Respectfully your obd't Sv't, 
Ifon. Ililand Hull, J. C. Si'encer. 

House of Representatives. 



10 

House of Representatives, Feb'y 26th, 1842. 
Sir: 

I thank you for the copy of my letter of the 21st inst., inclosed in 
yours of yesterday. In your letter you say you are extremely obliged to 
me for the information I gave you. and will be still further obliged if I 
can point out a mode in which the erroneous construction I suppose to 
have been given the act of July Sth, 1882, "can be corrected without 
violating the indispensable rule of adliering to former decisions." I would 
be glad to oblige you in this particular, but it is out of my power. Under 
au indispensable rule to adhere to erroneous decisions, I know of no mode 
in which they can he corrected. 

You are doubtless unaware of the amount of labor this " indispensable 
rule of adhering to former decisions" will save in the adjustment of these 
half-pay claims. There will be no necessity of reading tlie law or the evi- 
dence in any case. You may safely allow, without examination, all claims 
that are presented. I will engage to furnish you a precedent from " for- 
mer decisions " for any allowance you may make. 

I am. Sir, very respectfully yours, Hiland Hall. 

Hon. J. G. Spencer, Secretary of War. 

For an account of the claims and tlie correspondence in full, see 
report No. 485, second sec>sion 27tli Congress. It is believed there 
were few or no further allowances by the department. 

Mr. Hall was Bank Commissioner of Vermont for four years from 
1843, Judge of the Supreme Court for the like period until 1850, 
when he was appointed Second CcnnptroUer of the United States 
Treasurj', his duties being to revise and " finally adjust " all accounts 
with the government of officers and others in the W-xv and Navy 
departments, after they had been stated and passed upon by the 
Second, Third and Fourth Auditors. A claim came before him 
founded on au expenditure that had been ordered by tlie head of a 
department which he thought was illegal, and the question arose 
whether he had authority to reject it. It was insisted in behalf of 
the claimant tluit the secretary being his superior officer and repre- 
senting tlie President, the comptroller was bound by his approval, 
and had no power to disallow it. In support of this doctrine a 
labored written argument was presented, and it appeared to be 
sanctioned by the published opinion of three former Attorney- 
Generals. On full examination of the statutes, Mr. Hall came to 
the conclusion tliat judicial autliority had been designedly conferred 
on the accounting officers as a check upon lavish expenditures in tlie 
departments, and it was as much their duty to disallow claims not 
sanctioned by law, as it was of a court of justice. The question 
being one of importance, the opinion of the conq)troller was publisiied 
in pamphlet, and it is imderstood has since Ijcen accepted and fol- 
lowed in the several departments, as a just exposition of tlie law on 
tlie subject, and I'ecentl}' a second edition of the Siune has been 
printed for the use of the Departments. 



11 

In 1851, at the solicitation of President Fillmore, he accepted tlie 
office of Land Commissioner for California, his associates Ijcini'- 
Gen. James Wilson of iS'ew Ilampsliire and Judge Harry I. Thorn- 
ton of Alabama. The duties of the connnission were to adjust the 
claims to land under the treaty of Mexico, the titles of the owners 
as recognized by tiie Jlexican laws having been guaranteed to them 
by that treaty. Mr. Hall was chairman of the commission, and had 
charge of its funds, whicii he dislnnscd for its necessary expendi- 
tures, which amounted to several lumdred thousand dollais ; all of 
which was duly accounted for at the Treasury Department. 

The contested land claims brought into full use the fittin;,^ quali- 
fications wliich his habits of thought and investigation throii<;Ii life 
had develo|)ed. Among the cases brought before the Connnission, 
many of which were of great importance, was the famous Mariposa 
claim of (Jen. J. C. Fremont, involving millions of dollars, and in 
the adjustment and settlement of whicli tlie application of law in- 
volved, included almost without exception all points that would be 
liable to arise in the adjudication of similar claims. The opinion of 
the Commissioners was in this case written by Mr. Hall, and the 
points were so fidly and clearly elucidated, that many eminent jurists 
have written him expressing their admiration of the document. 

On the accession of President Pierce new commissioners were 
appointed, and j\lr. Hall, at the solicitation of his son in law, T. W. 
Park of the firm of Hallcck, Peachy, Billings & Park, then a 
jirominent law firm in San Francisco, reni:iiried for a time with tiiem 
as general adviser, and to assist in the preparation of briefs and other 
important law papers. In the spring of 1854, he returned to Ver- 
mont, and resuming his residence on the farm in Bennington on wiiich 
he was born, retirtd from the further practice of his profession. 

Mr. Hall was a member of the convention which met at Phila- 
delphia in 1S56 and gave the Pepublican Party a national character, 
by nominating candidates for the presidency and vicc-prcsiilcncv. 
In 1858 he was elected by that party governor of the state by a larac 
majority, and reelected the next year by a similar majority. In his 
first message, besides calling the attention of the legislature to the 
local affairs of the state, he spoke in decided condemnation of the then 
recent attempt of the majority of the judges of the Supreme Court 
of the United States, in furtherance of the wishes of President 
Buchanan and his advisers, to fasten upon the country, bv judicial 
sanction, the new and extraordinary doctrine that the constitution 
itself legalized slavery in the territories, and that congress conse- 
cpiently had no power to prevent its introduction. The language of 
the message in regard to this assumed action of the com-t was as 
follows: "With a strong haliitual reverence for judicial authority, 
when exercised within its api)ropriate sphere for the determination 
of individual rights, I confess I have not a high regard for it, when 
sought to be extended to political questions. The history of our 



12 

parent conntvy fiirnislies many examples of judges, learnecl and 
eiiiiuent, whose extra-judicial o[)inions were sought and obtained by 
the government for the pm'pose of crushing out the rising spirit of 
liberty among the people. Indeed, for the character of the judicial 
ermine, it is to be lamented that judges, of distinguished legal attain- 
ments, liave often been found giving countenance to oppression and 
wrong l)y ingenious and fmciful constructions, and that English 
liberty lias been fixed u[)oa its present firm foundations, not by the 
aid of judicial efforts, but by overcoming them. There is reason to 
hope that the extra-judicial opinions of the judges in tiie Dred Scott 
case, contrary as they are to the plain language of the constitution, 
to the facts of history and to the dictates of common humanity, will 
meet the fate wliich has attended those of the judges in the parent 
country, and that liberty wall be eventually established in spite of 
them." In his last message in 1859, he thus announces his deter- 
mination to retire from further i)ulilic service: "In closing this my 
last annual message, I cannot witlihold the expression of my grateful 
thanks to the freemen of the State for the confidence which they 
have on all occasions so generously manifested towards me ; and I 
beg to assure them tliat in retiring from public life at the end of the 
})resent political year, I shall carry with me the warmest and most 
heartfelt wishes for the continued prosperity of the State, and for 
the welfare and happiness of its people." 

He however consented to act as one of the commissioners to the 
fruitless "Peace Congress," which, on the call of Virginia, assembled 
at Washington in February, 18()1, on the eve of the rebellion. He 
was chairman of the delegation from Vermont. 

On tiie breaking out of the Rebellion in April, ISfil, he felt it 
his duty to do all in his power to uphold tiie integrity and unity of 
the government, and his time, energies and means to a large extent 
were from the first devoted to aid in crushing it. 

He at once favored the speedy forwarding of men, and assisted in 
the formation of companies, volunteering assistance to some families 
which would be left behind in needy circumstances, drawing the pay 
and taking care of money coming from or being sent to soldiers, and 
jwhen bounties were paid, in the placing in the safest manner such 
money that it should best meet the wants of the enlisting party ; all 
showing a deep interest in the preservation of the Union, the value 
of which in his estimation, no doubt, was increased by association 
for a long period in Congress by intimate relations with such states- 
men as Webster, Clay, Adams, Giddings, Stevens and a host of 
others, when the doctrine of nullification or disunion was being 
advocated liy Calhoun and his associates, that Slavery and State 
liights might be sustained and perpetuated. His anxiety continued 
during the war, and not until the surrender at Appomattox Court 
House, did he feel that his or the vigilance of any titlier man should 
in the least relax. 



13 

One of his sons, Nathaniel B., was Major of tlic llfh Refrimcnt 
of Vohintecrs, and was in the battle of Gettyshiirn-. lie sent suh- 
stitutes for four other sons and himself wiicn the need for men seemed 
imminent and the bounty had reached four hundred dollars each, 
besides tiie State pay and bounty. 

Mr. Hall has always taken a deep interest in American history, 
especially tiiat connected with the territory and state of Vermdut. 
He delivered the first annual address tiiat was made before tlie Ver- 
mont Historical Society ; and for six years from 1851) was its presi- 
dent, and has since been active in the preparation and arrangement 
of the materials for the two published volumes of its collections, and 
in otherwise promoting its usefulness and success. 

He read several iiistorical paj)ers at the meetings of the society, 
some of which have been published, — among them one in 18()9 in 
vindication of Col. Ethan Allen as the hero of Ticonderoga, in 
refutation of an attempt made in the Galaxy Magazine to rob him 
of that honor. He has contributed historical papers to tiie Xew 
York Historical Magazine, to the Vermont Historical Gazetteer, to 
the Piiiladelphia Historical Record, and also to the New England 
Historical and Genealogical Register. In 1860 he read before tlie 
New York Historical Society a paper showing " why the early in- 
habitants of Vermont disclaimed the jurisdiction of New York and 
established a se])arate government." 

In 1868 his Early History of Vermont, a work of over .500 pages, 
was published by J. Munsell, Albany. In it the controversy of its 
early inhabitants with New York, and their struggle for the estab- 
lishment of their state independence, as well as their valual)]e ser- 
vices in tiie cause of their conunon country during tlie revohitionarv 
war, are largely treated ; and the necessity of their separation from 
tlie government of New York in order to maintain the title to their 
lands and preserve their liberty, is very fully and unanswerably 
shown. 

Gov. Hall was very prominent in his exertions to have a suitalile 
centennial celeiiration of the battle of Bennington, and in securing 
for it the favorable action of the State Legislature, and also in sub- 
sequently promoting its successful accomplishment. Accordingly, 
a few days of the week comprising the Kith of August, 1877, was 
set apart for this object, and devoted to the discussion and presenta- 
tion of papers on suijjects connected with the revolutionary period 
of the history of the state, in which the governors and other eminent 
men of jNIassachusetts, New Hampshire and New York participated, 
as well as President Hayes and a niunber of his cabinet. Thou- 
sands of the citizens, among tiieni many military companies, with 
bands of martial and other music, from Vermont and adjoining 
states, and in fact from all parts of the union, participated in the 
services and made it a very remarkable occasion. 

A few months before the celebration he prepared a clear and full 



14 

description of the battle, with an acoount of its important conse- 
quences, vvb.icli was extensively publislied in ne\vspap(!rs and pamph- 
lets, a copy of wliich bus a place in the official account of the cen- 
tennial celebration. 

Mr. Hail was from the first deeply interested in the erection of a 
pi'oper monument for the commemoration of the b:ittle of Benning- 
ton. Tlie later years of his life, and especially the last year, bav- 
ins; reached the nge of ninety, were given to efforts for directing 
ami educating public opinion as to what kind of a structure would 
best mark tiiat important event. A report was made in December, 
1884, by a committee of the Bennington Battle I\Ionumcnt Associ- 
ation, on design, recommending "a structure to stand about t,.enty 
feet squiire on tlie ground, and about fifty feet in clear beiglit, and 
to be on a. mound ten feet high, making a total heigiit of about sixty 
feet." This caused surprise and sorrow to Mr. Hall, and early in 
1S8.J he published a sliort letter to the association and friends of the 
enterprise, giving his objections in a condensed form to the design 
recommended. In June folU)wing he addressed an open letter, 
printed in a pamphlet of twelve pages, to the members of the asso- 
ciation, in which he set forth at lengtli his views of monuments and 
their form, in relation to difl^erent historic events, and reviewed the 
design of tlie committee i-ecommending the small, low structure, and 
advised, as his ojiinion, the erection of a tall, large, bold and com- 
manding shaft, as a proper one to mark the victory. The following 
are his closing remavks in this letter : 

"After a few more words by way of apology for the length and earnest- 
ness of this letter, I will bring it to a close. Uorii witliiii less than tvvent,y 
vears after the battle, near the field where it was fought, and reared 
"froai cliililhood anioog those who were engaged in it, 1 early imbibed 
from tl'.eir lips a taste for its study, and from such study ac(iuired a con- 
victiou that it was an event of very great importance in the revolutionary 
liist.ory of our country. This conviction has lasted me through life, and 
has perhaps grown in strength with increasing years. I was e.-irly in favor 
of erectiiig a monument to the event; and, as president of the Bennington 
Historical Society, I took part in fi':nning the bill for the incorporation of 
the Battle Momnuent Association, attemted the session of the legislature 
at Mcntpelier in 187G, and gave such ai<l to our Bennington representative 
in procuring its passage as was iu my power. For several years past the 
subject of the construction of the monument has been in the care of a Board 
of Directors in whom I had confidence, believing that they would agree 
upon a structure that I should approve. But I was so greatly disappoint- 
ed by the report of their committee, which was published in December last, 
that I felt irresistibly impelled to oppose the adoption of their design by 
the Association; ami this I felt obliged to do in spite of the knowledge that 
my opposition woidd bring me, in iny greatly advanced age, into very 
undesirable conflict of opinion and action with some of my nearest .and dear- 
est and most valued friends. I have neverdieless thought it my duty to 
speak of it freely in this paper, whicli I liave done, but without unkinduess 
towards anyone; and notwithstanding our antagonism on this subject, I 



15 

hope ami trust tliey will still ;illow me to recognize tlicm as my friends, as 
I sliall certainly remain theirs." 

The above letter was extensively circulated and read, and aa a 
result of the strong presentation ot' the character of tlie monument 
required, at the annual meeting of the Association in August of the 
same year at Bennington, whieli was very largely attended and 
great interest manifested, and the vvliole matter fully discussed, tiie 
" re|)ort of the conunittee on design" was witiidrawn, and the Asso- 
ciation voted unanimously to erect a monument of magnitude and 
grandeur, as best befitting the event to be commemorated. A new 
impulse was thus given to the enterprise, and with the means already 
obtained, ere long the work will be completed. 

The Univei'sit.y of Vermont in ISAi) conferred on him the honorary 
degree of LL.D. He was a life-member and vice-j)residcnt for 
Vermont of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, a 
member of the Long Island Historical Society, an honorary member 
of the BuHalo and corresponding member of the New York Historical 
Societies. 

He was married in 1818 to Dolly Tuttle Davis, of lioekinghani, 
Vermont, who, after over sixty years of ha})py and useful married 
life, died January 8, 1879. 

Their Golden Wedding was celebrated October 27, 1868. Tiie 
carils, which were sent to none under fifty years of age, as it was 
made a reunion of old acquaintances, old friends and old-time 
neighbors, read in golden letters, under a beautiful monottram which 
surmounted a vignette in which was printed " Golden Wedding," 
with the dates 1818 and 1868 on either side, "JMr. and Mrs. Hiland 
Hall, at home Tuesday, Oct. 27th, from 2 to 5 P.M., North Ben- 
nington, Vt. No presents received." 

There were nearly tliree hundred present, among them a former 
teacher of his, aged 85 years, a schoobnate aged 77, two who were 
present at their wedding agco respectively 73 and 69. Of the 
gentlemen present who recorded their names and ages, t)ne was 79, 
two 77, two 76, three 75, two 74, two 7o, four 72, one 71, thirteen 
65 to 70, fifteen 60 to 64. It appears his was the fourth generation 
to which successively had been permitted a golden wedding by a 
kind Providence. Mrs. Hall's parents, Henry Davis and Mary 
Tuttle, lived toLtetlier 60 years lacking three days, — he was at the 
batttle of Bunker Hill under Col. Stark at tiie line of rail fence, from 
which the enemy were repeatedly repulsed with great loss, and also 
served at West Point at the time of Arnold's treasonable attempt to 
surrender it to the enemy, serving in the revolutionary war over 
three years, enlisting under the age of seventeen. Rev. Isaac 
Jennino-s was present, offering prayer and reading a part of the 31st 
chapter of Proverbs, from the 10th verse, "with personal reference 
to Mrs. Hail, the beautitul appropriateness of which was warmly 



16 

accorded by those present, an illustration of verses 19 and 20 being 
the tact that during the late war she knit scores of pairs of socks 
with yarn S))un by herself, sending them with other things for the 
comfort of the soldiers at the front." 

Tiie sixtieth anniversary of their wedding came on Sunday the 
27th October, 1878, their ages being respectively 83 and 86. It 
was observed by attendance upon divine service at the Congregational 
Church in North Bennington, of which she was a member. A very 
beautifully arranged basket of flowers \vas upon the table in front 
of the pulpit, the gift of very dear friends. At the close of the 
sermon allusions were made to the unusual length of time they had 
been permitted to live together, and fitting remarks were made 
tending to impress the sacredness of the marriage relation. It says 
in the Hall Genealogy, published in 1883, in speaking of Mrs. H., 
" Iler early education, though somewhat limited, was such that she 
became a successful teacher. She was remarkal)le for strength of 
mind and character, and was possessed of uncommon personal 
beauty. In company she always drew attention for her queenly 
a[)pearance and high social qualifications. She had a retentive 
memory, which was especially shown in her later years, -by the re- 
peating of much she had learned when quite young, and in many 
cases whole pages of prose or verse which had particularly impressed 
her. She enjoyed the confidence and esteem of her neighbors and 
friends, and richly deserved the a[)probation she received for her 
successful efforts in the management and raising of so large a family, 
miistly bovs, her husband, during the formation [)eriod of their lives, 
being so much absent upon pul)lic oflicial business. She never grew 
old in her feelings, but ever entered into the sports of her children 
with a zest which carried them with her, in tlie object for which she 
considered such pastimes should be indulged in, though a dignity was 
always maintained in the most familiar re<'reations, which tended to 
elevate. The wants of the needy received her kindly attention, and 
by her benevolence and uniform efforts she did much to enhance the 
comfort and happiness of others. For nearly fifty years she was an 
exemplary member of the Congregational Church in Bennington, 
and died confidently trusting in the Christian's hope." 

At a family reunion in North Bennington, July 20th, 1885, in 
honor of Mr. Hall, at the residence of his granddaughter, ilrs. J. 
G. McCiillough, and her husband Gen. McCullough, on which day 
he had reached the age of ninety years, there were present fifty-one 
oi' his descendants, there beinij; five more who were detained from 
the pleasant gathering. The difference in the ages of the oldest and 
youngest was 89 years and 8 months. The Bennington Banner of 
.Tidy 23d, says of the occasion, "None seemed to enjoy themselves 
more than he whose birthday anniversary was thus celebrated. Al- 
though having reached this advanced age he still retains his bodily 
health and vigor, with all his mental faculties unimpaired. Con- 



17 

gratulations flowed in, in large numbers, in many instances accom- 
jianiod by beautiful bouquets and floral offerings, a great portion 
coming from friends in Bennington Centre, wliere the recipient spent 
the larger part of his business and public life. These offerings 
seemed specially grateful to him, coming as they did from his old 
neighbors and their descendants. An elegant basket of fruit and 
flowers from a niece in Boston was specially admired. Tables were 
spread in the spacious dining room and hall, and all were seated 
and entertained with a banquet which did credit to the well-known 
hospitality of the host and hostess, the venerable Governor presiding 
at the board, and enlivening it with his humorous remarks. At each 
plate were cards, which must ever be valued mementoes of the 
occasion, whereon a skilful and loving hand, not uiuiscd to kindly 
and beautiful deeds, had sketched in water colors a faithful picture 
of the old Hall homestead and its annfexes, still standing. Each 
card also exhibited a striking photographic likeness of the common 
ancestor. The repast being ended, the Governor addressed his 
assembled descendants with an interesting talk, which will ever be 
remembered by them, and which brought the sons and grandsons, by 
blood and marriage, one after another, to their feet, in a lively en- 
counter of wit and fun. The evening closed with pleasant chat 
and social enjoyment, when the guests departed, each and every one 
feeling that it was good to be there, and wishing that the useful and 
honored life of their beloved ancestor might be long spared to them 
and to his many friends." 

The fruit of the marriage was six sons and two daughters. Of 
the sons, four are now living, viz., Henry D. and John V., of Ben- 
nington ; Nathaniel B., of Jackson, ^lichigan ; and Charles, of 
Springfield, ^lassachusctts. The deceased were, Eliza D., wife of 
Adin Thayer, who died in 1843; Hiland H. in 1851; Laura Y., 
wife of Trenor W. Park, in 1875 ; and M. Carter, in 1881. 

Gov. Hall died in Springfield, jNIass., at the house of his son 
Charles, with whom he was spending the winter, December 18, 
1885. He retired in usual health on the night of the 17th, and was 
heai'd in the morning to open the register for more warmth, as was 
the custom, when a fall attracted the attention of the family, and on 
going to the room he was unable to rise, but gave directions for the 
caring of himself. He lived about two hours, the machinery of the 
body seemingly having worn out, he being in has ninety-first year. 
His remains were taken to Bennington and interred in the cemetery 
at Centre Bennington, where he bad had, for years previously, a lot 
prepared, and where his beloved wife and most of his descendants 
have been buried. 



